Finding hope for our time: Charles Jennens’ libretto for Handel’s “Messiah” was a response to his time — and ours. Read more.
music
Christmas Carols — Listen Here for the Real Thing
Tired of the safe, watered-down Christmas music now playing in shopping malls? Try these Christmas carols, the real ones. Read more.
Widowed: John Donne, Meet Leonard Cohen — And Send Us a Song, Please, From the Mystery Beyond
I’ve spent evenings with songwriter Leonard Cohen and gone to bed with poet John Donne. I want to say, ‘John Donne, meet Leonard Cohen.’ Read more.
John Donne — A Love Affair With a Poet Long Dead
My college notes on the 17th-century poet John Donne were cautious and circumspect. My feelings fairly burst with yearning, spiritual and erotic. Read more.